


Picking the Perfect Present

by CaptainParisStarr



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Ace and Demi characters, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Frottage, M/M, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-05 16:43:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13391973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainParisStarr/pseuds/CaptainParisStarr
Summary: When Ryuji asks the boy he loves about getting his mother a painting for her birthday he is not expecting to pay for the painting with his body while teaching Yusuke about sex.





	Picking the Perfect Present

It had all started with a simple text that Ryuji had sent to Yusuke.

 

_"I need your help getting my mom a birthday present."_

 

Yusuke had texted him back almost instantly: _"Why me? Surely Akira or Ann would know more about selecting an appropriate gift for a Mother than I do."_

 

_"I want to get her a painting."_

 

_"Ah. In that case please come to my dorm room in an hour."_

 

That exchange happened half an hour earlier; Ryuji had made it to the Kosei dorms earlier than expected and Yusuke discovered two flaws in Ryuji's plan: he wanted to get his mom the original piece she had always wanted, but was low on cash. Now, Ryuji was by no means broke; original paintings were simply far more expensive than he had anticipated.

 

"That is why I'm asking you. I wanted to get her a work by her favourite painter but I was ho-"

 

"Who is her favourite?" Yusuke asked, not seeming to realize that he had interrupted Ryuji.

 

"I don't know his first name but his surname is something like Mona?" Ryuji frowned as he tried to remember.

 

"Mona... are you perhaps referring to Monet?"

 

"Yeah! He is the guy famous for his watercolor landscapes right?" Ryuji sighed and pulled out his phone. "This is a cheap print we have but..." Ryuji called up a photo from his gallery.

 

"Yes, that is a Monet. Your Mother has excellent taste."

 

"I suppose; but his originals are all in private collections or high class galleries. So uh... do you have anything similar I can buy from you? An old class project would be fine!"

 

"Hmm..." Yusuke looked thoughtful rather than offended, and Ryuji released a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. "My style is vastly different from Monet; however if you are looking for similar in subject matter I may be able to help."

 

Ryuji sighed in relief. "That would be great! And who knows? Maybe one day you will be worth more than Monet."

 

Yusuke puffed up with pride; Ryuji had clearly stoked his already overly large ego. "Yes, perhaps."

 

Silence fell as Yusuke considered Ryuji's request. "So, uh... do you have something that will work?"

 

Instead of replying, Yusuke began searching through the canvases scattered throughout the room. "Where did I...? Oh, yes. Here it is." He triumphantly produced a large canvas from the back of a group leaning against a buried couch. "Will this serve your purpose?"

 

Ryuji took the offered canvas; it was a landscape of Inokashira park, complete with tiny couples sharing swan boats on the water of the lake. As Yusuke said, the style was quite different than Monet's but the scene itself was reminiscent of what Monet would paint. "This is awesome!"

 

"Does that mean it is acceptable?"

 

"Acceptable? Its perfect! What do you want for it? I only have 25000 yen on me but..."

 

"I do not want your money." Yusuke's tone was gentle as he stepped closer.

 

"Then what do you want?" Ryuji glanced up at Yusuke a few seconds later as he realized his usually open friend was unusually quiet. "Yusuke? What do you want for the painting?"

 

Yusuke toyed with the hem of his shirt, a nervous tick that Ryuji had never seen before. He had never even seen Yusuke fidget before, yet he was shifting nervously from foot to foot.

 

"Ryuji, are you open to...?" Yusuke shook his head as he trailed off.

 

"Open to what?" He frowned for a moment; then his eyes went wide. "Yusuke are you asking for... sex?"

 

"No." A look of relief nevertheless passed across Yusuke's face and he released the hem of his shirt as he took another step closer to Ryuji. "I simply wish for you to spend the night with me."

 

"Do you like me?" Yusuke looked away, which was answer enough.

 

"You do not like boys; that is evident. However I would like to kiss you and share my bed with you tonight. Allow me this, and the painting is yours."

 

Ryuji's eyes dropped briefly to the painting he still held, then back up to the boy who had painted it.

 

This was not what Ryuji had expected to happen; he had expected a normal exchange of cash for a finished product.

 

"Ryuji, please, say something." Yusuke whispered softly as the silence dragged on a little too long.

 

"This just isn't what I was expecting from you. I didn't think that you liked boys."

 

"You thought that I was straight because of the incident with Ann."

 

"No; actually I kinda thought you were ace."

 

"Ace? What do playing cards have to do with sexuality?"

 

Ryuji bit back a chuckle. "It stands for asexual. I honestly thought that you weren't attracted to anyone sexually. Wait, are you attracted to me?"

 

"Yes. However you are the only one I've ever had sexual desires for."

 

Understanding lit Ryuji's eyes from within. "Was this an instant attraction, or did it develop slowly as we got to know each other?"

 

"The latter."

 

"Sounds like you're demisexual."

 

"Demisexual?" That small frown was back, adorably creasing the bluenettes forehead.

 

"Its halfway between sexual and asexual. Sexual, but requiring a prior connection to unlock those feelings." This time, it was Ryuji who stepped forward. "Its nothing too feel ashamed about, nor does it mean that you're broken."

 

"That is good to know; however none of this changes your sexuality."

 

"I'm heteroflexible. In general, yes I am straight but I'm open to experimenting with the right boy and lately, that boy is you. We can go as far as you wish to go tonight."

 

"Are you certain? I do not wish for you to regret being with a boy, for your first time having sex."

 

"Woah, who says that this is my first time? I did manage to get a girlfriend in my last year of middle school and we went all the way twice. Then she had to move away. Ask Ann, she knows her. This was before Kamoshida and the shit show with the track team."

 

"You are experienced?" Yusuke actually looked surprised at that.

 

"Well, I wouldn't say that, exactly. It was only twice and its been years since I last spoke to her. I am, however, definitely not a virgin. You are. So you get to control what we do and how far we go, okay?"

 

Slowly, Yusuke nodded. "How do you know so much about asexuality and demisexuality?"

 

"My mom is ace, actually. She got pregnant with me during college, trying to prove to people that she wasn't herself broken and then her parents forced her to marry my dad. I'm cool with just about everything, as long as its not shoved down my throat ya know?"

 

"Did she know that he was abusive before the wedding ceremony?"

 

"No. Actually, my dad is a really decent guy when he's not drinking. Hes just never not drinking anymore." Ryuji sighed, looking away from Yusuke.

 

"Ryuji, I'm sorry." Yusuke took a step backwards, his hands working the buttons of his uniform shirt open.

 

"Yusuke?" Anything he might have said was forgotten as he watched a strip of creamy pale skin appear and lengthen as each new button was released. Then Yusuke turned around as he let the shirt fall to the floor.

 

"Oh my God!" Ryuji's mouth went dry as his eyes traced over each scar marking his friends back, too many scars to count. Scars that could have only come from a whip. "What did he do to you?!"

 

"I spoke out of turn at a important charity dinner and embarrassed Maderame. I was eight."

 

"So he whipped you?"

 

"Yes." The word was whispered so softly that Ryuji almost didn't hear him. "Normally he punished me with his open palms, or by withholding food. However, I had lost him a crucial show so he felt a more drastic punishment was required."

 

Ryuji reached out and traced over one scar with the tip of a finger, not even aware he was doing so until he felt Yusuke shiver. "I'm sorry."

 

"Do not apologize. I want to be touched by you. Kissed by you."

 

"I want to effing beat the shit out of Maderame for this!" Ryuji's voice held a cold fury that even surprised him. "No one deserves to be whipped!" His arms slipped gently around Yusuke's waist. "Did he make you feel like shit for not being sexually attracted to others?"

 

"No. Actually he was glad that I wasn't letting sex distract me. He also understood that I found Ann aesthetically pleasing, nothing more." Yusuke leaned back against Ryuji, shivering again at the warmth of the contact.

 

“How many times did he whip you?”

 

“Only once; thirty lashes.”

 

“Thirty?!” Ryuji stilled, fury simmering in the pit of his stomach.

 

"Or so I was told afterwards. I was unable go count for myself due to an unconscious state towards the end."

 

"He... oh Yusuke." Ryuji laid one cheek against the back of Yusuke's shoulder, and Yusuke could feel that shoulder growing damp.

 

"Are you crying?"

 

"I thought I'd had it bad with a dad who beat me bloody with his fists when drunk but... Maderame was sober wasn't he when he... he meant it."

 

"I am uncertain what you are implying."

 

"I mean I can kinda forgive my dad because I know it was just the drink. How can you ever forgive a man who thinks whipping an eight year old is okay?"

 

Yusuke turned around in Ryuji's arms. "I have forgiven him. He is no longer in my life and I have put my past behind me."

 

"You will bear the scars of what he did forever." Ryuji looked deep into Yusuke's eyes, searching for something though he didn't know what. "He tried to break you, and in some ways he succeeded. He taught you to be a slave obeying his masters whip."

 

"He apologized for the whipping, and ever since I strove to be better for him. He never left a mark on me again after that day."

 

"He forced you to grow up too early! You were eight and not allowed to be a child..." Ryuji buried his face in Yusuke's chest as deceptively strong arms encircled him. Even as his own fresh tears soaked into his friends skin, he felt others land in his hair.

 

Neither knew how long they had been crying before the need to reassure themselves that the other was there and okay overwhelmed them and their lips met in a tear soaked kiss.

 

Ryuji pulled away first. "I'm sorry. I don't want to pressure you into anything you're not ready for."

 

"I am ready, Ryu. I want you." Yusuke leaned down to claim another soft kiss.

 

"How much do you know about sex?"

 

"Sex is the means by which couples express their love for one another and through which babies are conceived."

 

Ryuji laughed at Yusuke's typically missing-the-point answer. "No. I mean how much do you know about having sex. The mechanics of sex."

 

Yusuke frowned. "There is more to sex than love?"

 

"Yeah. Loads more. Lie down on the bed. If I do anything you don't like, or that makes you uncomfortable, tell me okay?"

 

Yusuke nodded, his own mouth dry and his mind blank for once. Heat pooled low in his body, a heat he had never felt so intensely before and a usually quiet part of him felt swollen and was throbbing in his pants.

 

"Ryuji, wait. Is this a normal reaction in times like this?" Taking Ryuji's hand he pressed the palm against the front of his pants.

 

"Yes. Wow, you really are..." Ryuji swallowed hard. "I was watching you so closely, wanting something more than friendship from you even though I thought you were ace. I must have been looking too closely to see the signs that you are sexually interested in me."

 

Yusuke frowned, cocking his head to one side in his confusion. "You have always treated me the same as any other member of our group."

 

"No, I haven't. I text you more than anyone else; I ask you if you're free to hang out more often. In battle, I'm the quickest to help you recover. Yusuke, I love you. I love you so much that for the past month I was asking my mom all about dating an ace without sexual pressure. I was ready to never have sex again for a chance to just be with you, cuddling against you while watching a movie and teaching you about video games. I've never been so happy to be proven wrong about something in my life." Ryuji coaxed Yusuke onto the bed before climbing on top of him and kissing him slow and sweet, just a soft press of lips and the barest hint of tongue.

 

"How do you know that what you feel is love?"

 

"I just know. You'll just know too if what you feel for me turns into love. I can wait though. As long as you want me, and need me, in your life I can wait forever for you to love me back." Ryuji lowered his head again, his lips ghosting over Yusuke's neck. His hands pressed into the mattress, raising him enough that Yusuke wouldn't feel how hard he already was. How eager he was to take things further.

 

"What should I be doing?" Yusuke's hands were resting against Ryuji's hips uncertainly.

 

"I just need you to relax and trust me, okay? You can touch me if you want to, I won't stop you. However right now I need to know that I can make you feel good." Feather light kisses landed on Yusuke's lips, eyelids, nose, forehead and cheeks. "We have all night."

 

Yusuke's eyes closed as Ryuji moved to kiss his way down a graceful neck, pausing to lightly nip an earlobe, his kisses too soft to leave marks. Marking Yusuke was not his goal; he simply wanted to map his lovers body, ever scar, and every sweet spot.

 

When he got to the junction where neck met shoulder he was rewarded with a small sound of surprised pleasure and a small smile graced his lips as he firmed his kisses. “You like this, huh?”

 

“Y-yeah...” Yusuke's voice was breathless, and his hands were unconsciously clenching and relaxing against Ryuji's hips.

 

“This is nothing, just the tip of the iceberg. You will feel amazingly good by the end, I promise.” Sliding himself lower on the bed, Ryuji began working his way down Yusuke's chest, inch by inch trying to not leave a single millimetre of soft skin untouched by hands or lips.

 

By the time he reached Yusuke's beaded nipples, Yusuke was panting softly, his chest rising and falling rhythmically and his entire body moving against Ryuji as each soft caress stoked the fire burning within him. His entire body felt hot, and the only way to cool the heat was for Ryuji to keep going until the end.

 

More than once, Yusuke tried to direct Ryuji to the part him throbbing painfully between his legs, but Ryuji overpowered him every time. Overpowered him in a way that made the pleasure he felt even more intense, and while Yusuke desperately needed a release, he also never wanted this to end.

 

Then a hot, wet mouth latched onto his nipple and his whole body arched with pleasure as a shriek escaped from his mouth.

 

Ryuji pulled back, shocked. “Holy shit just how sensitive are you?” He swallowed hard, gazing upon the boy lying before him, already falling apart from just a few kisses and caresses.

 

Then his eyes slipped lower, widening as he took in the tent in his boyfriends pants. Slowly, he reached out and traced over the hard length outlined by the fabric. “Wow, you're soaked!”

 

“You sound surprised?”

 

“Its not common for boys to get wet like this; its not a bad thing though. It just means that you're really ready for more.” Ryuji's hands moved to undo Yusuke's pants, easing the pressure the tight fabric was causing, and pulling down both pants and underwear only just far enough to expose Yusuke. “Unzip me.”

 

Yusuke fumbled at Ryuji's pants making him laugh. “Hmm... I'll have to remember that your fine motor skills go from one hundred to zero when you get aroused.”

 

Large grey eyes, eyes darkened by arousal to the color of storm clouds, blinked up at him as Yusuke tried to figure out if he was just complimented or insulted. But before he could form an appropriate response, his hands were freeing Ryuji's length and he forgot what he was about to say.

 

Uncertain what to do, Yusuke thumbed the slit open, earning him a gasp from the blond before his hand was pushed away. “Lie down on your side, facing me.”

 

Yusuke nodded, and they both shifted until they were lying side by side, the fronts of their bodies gently pressed together, Ryuji's shirt hastily removed and tossed aside to be found later.

 

It wasn't the slide of their bare chests against one another that had both boys panting in unison, however. Ryuji had both of their cocks in one hand and was jerking them together, even as his hips, and Yusuke's, moved them over and against each other.

 

Mouths met once more in a now frantic dance, each kiss deeper than the last as tongues battled for dominance. Any rhythm they had was lost as they both felt themselves growing close, needing release more than either had ever needed anything before in their lives.

 

“Ryuji... I... I'm going to...”

 

“I know. Cum for me.” Ryuji slipped his free hand around Yusuke's waist to press against the small of his back, pulling him closer still.

 

“Ryuji?”

 

“Shh... just let it happen. You'll understand after.” Ryuji released his own cock in favor of rubbing Yusuke's tip, each small motion milking another sound from the bluenette, and a twitch from the organ itself. “Don't hold back, let it happen.”

 

Removing his hand, Ryuji used his mouth to moisten his fingertips, before resuming his massage of Yusuke's head. The added lubrication did the trick, and seconds later wave after wave of seed was pouring out of the painter, leaving him spent and breathless on the bed as Ryuji used his seed to lubricate his had to finish himself off, painting Yusuke with his own release.

 

“Was that sex?” Yusuke snuggled in closer five minutes later, his now fully nude body easily molding against Ryuji's.

 

“Yes. One form of sex anyway; there are many others.”

 

“Such as sodomy?”

 

Ryuji pulled away until he could look into his lovers eyes. “Please don't use that word, but yes. Anal intercourse is another form of sex, as is oral.”

 

“Oral...” Yusuke blinked up at Ryuji. “All the boys in my class brag about getting girls to give them oral but I could never understand why, or even what they were referring to precisely.

 

“Want to find out?” Ryuji pressed a soft kiss to the tip of Yusuke's nose.

 

“Yes.” He yelped as he was pushed onto his back by a now playful Ryuji.

 

“You might be hypersensitive right now; if this hurts tell me and we can try it again later. Okay?”

 

Yusuke nodded as Ryuji pushed his legs apart, settling down in between them before stroking Yusuke gently with his hand. Once he was certain that Yusuke was hard enough, he flicked his tongue across the tip.

 

“Ryuji?” Brown eyes rolled upwards to meet his own as a mouth engulfed him.

 

“Stop!”

 

“Sorry, was that too much?”

 

“Yes. I...” Yusuke's checks flamed red.

 

“It's fine, no one says that you have to like oral.”

 

“That was oral?”

 

“Yeah. Girls get eaten out while boys get sucked off. Either way, its using a mouth against someone else's genitals.”

 

“I see.” Yusuke's blush began to fade, even as he felt ashamed for overreacting.

 

Just as an awkward silence began to fall, Ryuji's phone rang.

 

“That's probably my mom wondering where I am.” Ryuji scrambled for his jacket, retrieving the offending technology. “Hello? I'm fine; I'm just with Yusuke. He's a friend of mine. No, he goes to Kosei. MOM! Can we... no, wait... He's the one I told you about. Turns out he's demi though so...” Ryuji sighed as he listened for a long moment. “Mom, I'm spending the night with him. No I don't need money for condoms; things aren't going that far tonight. I'll be home tomorrow.” He hung up before turning his phone off.

 

“Was she mad at you?”

 

“More concerned than mad, really.” Ryuji sighed. “Come with me tomorrow when I give her the painting; I want her to know exactly who painted it.”

 

“Of course I will. I wish to meet your mother as well; perhaps she can answer some questions I still have about myself.”

 

“You mean about being demisexual and all that?” Yusuke nodded. “I'm sure she'll be glad to talk to you. She doesn't know very many people on the ace spectrum personally, so she rarely gets the chance to truly open up about it.”

 

“I thought you said that demi is different from ace?” Yusuke frowned.

 

“It is, but they are on the same spectrum and there are different ways to be ace as well. Some aces don't want sex at all, while others crave the intimacy of the act with someone they love even if they do not themselves desire sex for sex itself. Some simply wish for companion ship while others wish for small touches and kisses, but nothing more. Everyone is different, and those differences are what make everyone special.”

 

“I think I am beginning to understand.” Yusuke yawned. “However for tonight, all I desire is sleep.”

 

“That sounds like a good plan. Goodnight Yusuke.” Ryuji crossed the room to click the light off before slipping into bed beside Yusuke, covering them both with the blanket before falling asleep with Yusuke's head pillowed on his chest.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Happy Birthday, Mom!” Ryuji uncovered the painting Yusuke had helped him transport halfway across Tokyo.

 

“Ryuji!” Her eyes widened as she took in the scene painted onto the canvas. “You better not have spent your college savings on this!”

 

“Mom, no. This is one of Yusuke's paintings.”

 

“You painted this?” She turned to the tall, beautiful boy who was holding her son's hand.

 

“Yes, I did. Ryuji came to me yesterday looking for a painting reminiscent of Monet. That is simply an old piece I did for a class assignment though.”

 

“I wanted to get you this one.” Ryuji showed her the forest painting. “However, while Yusuke painted it, the painting itself was credited to Madarame so the police have it.”

 

“You are connected to Ichiryusai Madarame?”

 

“Yes, he was my Sensei and he raised me as his own child after my own mother passed away. No, after he caused her death; she had a seizure and instead of getting her medical assistance he allowed her to die. I am still uncertain why he took me in however; I was still an infant at the time and my own artistic talents were not guaranteed.”

 

“Being raised by a man like that... Ryuji says that you are demisexual? Please, sit down. I'm sure you have questions.”

 

Ryuji grinned softly as he got himself comfortable on a chair as Yusuke sat next to his mother on the couch, already asking question after question about what it means to ace and demi. His eyes shone as he wondered what he did to deserve such a wonderful partner.

 


End file.
